


the party goes with you

by whatwefound



Category: Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatwefound/pseuds/whatwefound
Summary: david's a second grade teacher that wants to know the eighth grade math teacher a little better
Relationships: Brad Bakshi & David Brittlesbee, Brad Bakshi/David Brittlesbee
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	the party goes with you

Ten minutes left of school and David felt like screaming… again.

He loved teaching, don’t get him wrong, but there were days like the ones he was having now when he regretted being an education major in college. There were also days when he felt like he was the luckiest guy in the world, when some second grader in his class would hand him a picture they had drawn just for him or smile like he was genuinely making a difference in their life. On those days David felt important, which was something that he had rarely felt since the divorce.

Taking a deep breath he looked across the room, “Joey, can you read the next page for us?” 

The boy nodded, yawning, and proceeded to speak as slow as humanly possible. As he finished the five sentences of the picture book he was tasked to read the bell began to ring, causing the students to rush to their backpacks to pack up.

“Great job Joey,” David smiled, then called out to the room, “let’s use our inside feet everyone! Remember that there are other classes around us!”

The class quieted minutely, but within five minutes were out the door, rushing to their parents. David stared out at the bustling around him until his eyes caught on someone in particular.

Brad Bakshi, eighth grade math teacher, seemed to glow under the early May sun as he high-fived his students leaving the building. David had been trying to ignore the buzzing feeling that seemed to grow in his chest when he saw him, but there was something about the way he smiled around the kids that made him impossible to ignore. Brad was a good teacher, from what he had heard. He was tough but supportive, and seemed to open up more around the students than his own coworkers. David had only talked to him a few times in the hallways and in the breakroom but somehow he wanted to get to know him more, even if just to know how he acted when he didn’t have to be stuck behind a math textbook.

“David?” Poppy Li, the school’s computer teacher, called from behind him, “You alright?”

“What? Oh, yeah, just making sure everyone’s getting home safe.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say man. Anyways, I was about to head out and I wanted to say goodbye.”

“Bye, Pop. I’ll see you Monday.” David waved as she began to back down the hallway.

“See you then! Hey, only two weeks left of the school year! Almost there!”

David gave a halfhearted cheer as she disappeared from view. The truth was, he didn’t want the school year to end. The end of the year meant sitting home alone for two months in his too-big house, trying to figure out what to do. This was the first summer he would spend without his wife and it was beginning to terrify him. What was he supposed to do?

“Excuse me, I need to get through.”

David was broken from his thoughts by none other than Brad Bakshi himself trying to walk into the school building, “Oh, of course, sorry.”

Brad smiled, “No problem, I just need to get back to class.”

“What for?” David questioned, “School’s over on a Friday, what are you rushing to?”

This caused him to go silent, staring for a moment, “I need to go.”

He was gone before David could say anything back. All that was left was that buzzing feeling in his chest.

…

David walked into the school building early Monday morning with a thermos of coffee and a forced smile. He had spent the weekend doing nothing but watching tv and attempting to cook dinner, failing every time. When he and his wife finally separated he thought that the worst part of it would be missing her, but it didn’t feel like that anymore. It didn’t feel like he missed her as much as he missed having a genuine connection to someone, not like they had one for the final year and a half of their marriage.

The hallways were vacant, most teachers not even in the building yet, which was why it was so surprising for David to see a man working inside one of the classrooms. It was even more surprising to see that it was the man that he had been thinking about over the whole course of the weekend: Mr. Bakshi himself.

David froze, staring. Brad was deeply focused on something he was writing, seeming to be tuned out of the world around him. David took his time to observe every aspect of what he saw, from the way his eyebrow furrowed in concentration to the slight sticking out of his tongue. After a moment Brad lifted up the paper he was working on and grabbed a new one, breaking him from his spell. He continued to walk down the hallway, leaving the classroom behind.

Maybe someday he would stop by and say hello, but today was not that day.

…

“Hey Carol?” David called out later that day.

The teacher popped her head out from the classroom next to his, “Can I help you David?”

“My class is in silent reading time right now, can you just keep an eye on them while I use the bathroom?”

“Sure thing, go ahead.”

“Thank you so much.” He checked over his class one last time before heading out. His feet moved quickly, not wanting to be gone for too long. He was almost to the teacher’s lounge when he heard a scuffling in the hall. Turning around he spotted the source of the noise, yet again Brad Bakshi.

However he seemed to be accompanied by a young girl, having her leaning against him as they seemed to be heading towards the women’s restroom. The girl looked miserable, clutching her stomach with her eyes downcast to the ground. Before they entered he got down on his knee and made eye contact with her.

“Are you feeling any better?” David heard him say. 

The girl shook her head no, seeming as if she was about to cry.

“That’s fine, alright? That’s okay.” Brad looked to be smiling, “You’re going to be fine. Go on in there and I’ll go tell Ms. Gorgon to call your parents. We’ll get you home and you can go rest.”

The girl nodded, trying to smile back, and headed into the bathroom. Immediately, Brad stood and walked briskly to the main office. David stood, staring, trying to make sense of what had happened and how Brad taking care of a sick kid could look so goddamn  _ cute _ . 

After a moment he shook himself out of his thoughts and continued into the teacher’s lounge. He did have a class to get back to after all.

…

At the beginning of the next week David came to school early again. He knew that it was the last week of school, and he had no idea what he was going to do with himself once it hit Saturday. He had started to prep for the next school year, but even he knew that eventually he would run out of things to do. Nevertheless, school had not ended yet, and David tried to distract himself by hanging up his students’ pictures across the classroom. After about twenty minutes he heard a knock on the door from, who else, Brad Bakshi.

“Hey, D-Train, you busy in here?” He smiled, almost sheepishly.

Brad had never used a nickname for him before, and had barely talked to him to begin with, but David still found it in himself to respond, “Not at all, how can I help you?”

“Just need somewhere to grade my last tests. It’s way too quiet in the mornings, and I noticed you come in early. Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“No, it’s totally fine!” David tried as hard as he could to act nonchalant, “Take a seat.” He motioned to the array of second grade desks around him.

Brad smiled, then frowned as he attempted to fit into the lowered desk. His knees ended up being raised to the middle of his chest, and David tried to stifle a laugh.

“If you dare take a picture of this so help me Brittlesbee I will end you.” Brad teased.

“Brittlesbee?” David questioned, “Didn’t know we were on a nicknames and last-name-only basis.”

Brad seemed to go quiet at this, settling the room into an uncomfortable silence. After a moment though he turned to his papers, beginning to mark up one at the top of the stack. David moved to write the day’s plan on the board, trying to find something to dissolve the tension.

“So… what are you doing this summer?” He asked.

“Probably flying home to see my family.” Brad didn’t look up.

“Home? Where are you from?”

“Poland, my mom and sisters still live there. I try to visit every summer.”

David stood, slightly shocked, “That's… really cool, actually.”

That was what caused Brad to catch his eye, “Really?”

“Yeah! I’ve never lived anywhere but here in California, very ordinary.”

“You’re the closest thing from ordinary.”

David stopped, “What does that mean?”

Brad stared at him, looking unsure on how to respond. At that moment they heard the door open, the sound of young children filling the building.

“Well, this was nice,” Brad stood up, gathering his belongings, “I’ll see you later… David.”

Even though the nicknames sounded strange, somehow the absence of them sounded worse as David watched him hurry from the room. He wanted to say something, to question further, but his students had started to file in, causing him to force the thoughts out of his head.

…

“Happy last day of school David!” Poppy cheered, walking up to him as he watched his students find their parents after school, “Can’t believe it’s finally here.”

“Yeah, can’t believe it.” He mumbled.

“You wouldn’t believe how excited I am to not be teaching these little jerks for another two months. I might actually be able to relax.”

“Are you heading back to Australia?”

“Yeah, man. My brother’s getting married and I’ve gotta be one of the bridesmaids.”   
  
David smiled, “Well it sounds like you’ll have an exciting summer.”

Poppy looked suddenly distracted, “You too, it seems.”

“Poppy, I don’t think I have anything planned at all, it hardly seems-”

“Nonono,  _ David.” _ Poppy motioned over to another school entrance where Brad Bakshi stood, staring, right at David. She motioned him over despite David’s attempts to dissuade her.

“Have fun David!” She whispered loudly, and headed into the building as quick as she could.

Brad was getting closer and it was taking everything in David not to run. He looked determined, stopping right in front of him.

“Can I talk to you?” He asked.

Now David truly wanted to run. Nevertheless, he replied, “Of course.”

“I didn’t come to your room to grade papers this week.

“...Oh.”

“It’s the last week of school, I didn’t even assign anything.”

“Okay?” David was confused.

“The truth is, I wanted to sit with you. Even if I was sitting in that stupid little kiddie chair, I wanted to spend time with you.”

David stood, stunned, “What?”

“I don’t know what it is about you David, but you make me nervous. I want to be around you and I want to run from you at the same time. It’s strange, and it freaks me out, and I know this is forward-”

“But it’s okay,” David interrupted, “because I feel it too.”

Brad was silent for a moment, “You do?”

“I do.” he laughed.

“Oh! That’s good!”

“I know!”

Brad smiled brightly, something David hadn’t quite seen before. It was radiant, and it made him feel bright as well.

“In the spirit of… shared feelings,” Brad looked at him, “I was wondering if you were free this weekend. Maybe we could grab something to eat?”

David felt light as air, “I’d like that a lot.”

“I would too.” He pulled out a small card from his pocket, “I don’t know if you have my number or not, but here it is.”

David accepted it, “Thanks, I’ll call you.”

“I hope you do.”

As Brad walked into the school building David took a deep breath, trying not to smile too wide.

_ Maybe this summer won’t be so terrible after all. _

**Author's Note:**

> this is so cheesy i'm so sorry
> 
> twitter is @whatwe_found!


End file.
